Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 7.djvu/574

Rh Dorn was safely crossing the Hatchie at a bridge six miles south of Davis’, and Bowen crossed the Tuscumbia, burning the bridge behind him and saving all the trains,

In this very important contest on the Tuscumbia, Carruthers’ battalion and the Fifteenth Mississippi and some companies of Jackson’s cavalry carried off the honors. Among the Mississippi commands especially mentioned for gallantry at Corinth was the Twenty-second Mississippi, which, with the Ninth, led in the first attack of Lovell’s division. The Thirty-fifth fought nobly, and at Davis’ bridge only forty men were left, commanded by Lieutenant Henry. General Villepigue mentioned for conspicuous gallantry Col. D. W. Hurst, Thirty-third, who drove the enemy from their intrenchments at the head of his regiment with empty guns, and Col. W. B. Shelby, Thirty-ninth, who rallied his men at great personal risk from a temporary disorder.

This unfortunate battle is graphically described in a letter written soon afterward by Capt. E. H. Cummins, of Maury’s division, to General Beauregard. After noting that they occupied without great loss the rifle-pits, which were not obstinately defended, and then pushed on to the inner line of works constructed by the Yankees near the intersection of the railroads, he relates that during the night a great rattling of wagons and shouting of teamsters were heard, which he and others took to mean that Rosecrans was evacuating. But in the morning they found themselves in an exposed position under a fire of artillery immensely superior to what their fourteen guns could answer. Nevertheless, they entered the town, and Hébert occupied the works on the ridge northwest of Beauregard’s old headquarters. "But we scarcely got in when we met and were overwhelmed by the enemy’s massive reserves. Our lines melted under their fire like snow in thaw. The fragments who escaped formed again before we got beyond the fire of the batteries, and Lovell came over and became the rear guard,